STATE EXTRA: Lee is going to Richmond

HARRISONBURG — Lee made it look easy in the Group A, Division 3 quarterfinal against Graham.

Lee freshman Angela Mickens outscored the G-Girls by herself 28-27 as the Lee Ladies coasted to a final four berth Friday with a 52-27 win at James Madison University’s Convocation Center.

The first quarter started out sloppy for the young Lee Ladies in front of a large crowd at JMU.

Junior Kathleen Thompson stepped up when needed to settle her team down, scoring the first two Lee points after several turnovers to start the game.

“She has been through some tough times in the program,” Lee coach Jeremy Hartman said. “Last year in the regional tournament she played both games with a fever over 100. She’s tough as nails and mentally tough. As a junior co-captain, I don’t expect anything less from her.”

Thompson needed help, though, to keep the Lee Ladies in contention early against a fundamentally sound Graham team. That help came from Angela Mickens.

Mickens led the Lee Ladies with seven points in the first quarter.

Graham trailed by only three after the first eight minutes thanks to a near-perfect shooting performance by Maegan Henry and her eight points.

Lee did a much better job shutting out Henry in the second quarter with huge defensive efforts down low by Daquaa and Kendra Scott. The Lee Ladies used a 2-3 zone to keep Henry double-teamed in the post, denying entry passes from coming in.

Mickens again took over in the second quarter, making it hard to believe that she is just a freshman.

She poured in another 12 points in the second quarter, none bigger than in the last minute.

With the ball, and playing for one shot, Mickens moved the ball around the perimeter to Kemani Crawford. Crawford hit Kendra Scott with a pass into the paint for an easy layup.

The G-Girls came down the floor looking for a shot. After Lee’s defense started shutting down the court, Chelsea Gallinger tried to pass the ball to the top of the key, leading too far for a turnover.

With 8.8 seconds to play in the half and Lee up 32-21, Mickens nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Lee Ladies all the momentum heading into halftime.

“You do what you have to do,” Mickens said nonchalantly. “Coach told us hard work was fun. You work hard and this is what you get.”

The third quarter went the same as the first half.

Graham scored the first two points on a pull-up jumper by Gallinger and then the Lee Ladies did the rest, scoring the final 13 points of the quarter.

The G-Girls scored a total of six points in the second half, not the performance they wanted already down by 14 at halftime.

“Wow, to be honest, I did not realize that,” Hartman said about the defensive prowess in the second half. “I know we just preached about keeping the defensive intensity up and slamming the door and not giving them a chance.”

Mickens’ 28 points carried Lee. Thompson and Daquaa Scott added 10 each.

Henry led Graham with nine points. Gallinger had seven.